As computers have developed to provide greater capabilities at greater speeds, the techniques for interacting with computers have also become much simpler. For example, icons provide pictorial representations of functions which may be executed by a computer and which allow a user to easily access a function with a simple click of a mouse or a stroke of a keyboard key. Icons, while providing an understandable interface, do not typically provide unique information associated only with an application or object to which it corresponds. For example, an icon which corresponds to a word processing application is the same for all documents created using that word processing application.
This limitation is especially apparent in compact disc (CD) player applications. In such applications, a compact disc (CD) may be inserted within a CD device of a data processing system and then played using a CD player application. After insertion of the CD, a CD player application within the data processing system then accesses a unique identifier stored on the compact disc itself. Such prior art systems then allow an external user to input a name of the compact disc and the name of individual tracts on the compact discs so that they are associated with a unique identifer. This information is kept in a private data file which is accessed only by the CD player application. An example of such a function is found in the Windows '95.TM. CD player application marketed by Microsoft Inc.
While the prior art CD system provides a user interface having a name which is easily recognizable, a same visual indicator for the compact disc and the compact disc player application is provided. Therefore, a need exists for an identification methodology and system for implementing that methodology which allow an external user to easily recognize compact discs that have been accessed by a compact disc player application, without the need for actually accessing the compact disc player application.